Boats having open cockpits are susceptible to water damage and damage due to direct sunlight unless covered when not in use. Typically, these covers are comprised of flexible fabric sheets which extend over the cockpit of the boat. Unfortunately, due to the stretching of the material, and they can sag and collect water, which further stretches the material, which causes further sagging, ultimately resulting in the failure of the cover. The present invention alleviates this problem by providing a firm support underneath the cover without requiring modification to the boat or risking damage to the boat.
To prevent the failure of the cover, various apparatuses have been invented to support the cover to prevent sagging. U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,872 to Hulett, for example, provides two extensible poles extending from the center of the bow of the boat to the center of the stern. The flexible cover is then draped over these poles and the windshield to protect the interior of the boat. The problem with this device is that for wider boats or boats with low profile windshields, the cover is still susceptible to collecting water between the poles and the sides of the boat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,457 to Sommerhauser et al. provides three parallel extensible poles which extend from the stern of the boat to the top of the windshield. The problem with this apparatus is that it is heavy and bulky and complicated to set up.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,509 to Talbot provides one or more bridge straps extending from bow to stern attached at each end with the boat being draped by a single plastic film. This method requires the installation of additional hardware to tie down the straps.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,536,152 and 2,542,586 to Bass and Skjeveland, respectively, each employ a plurality of support structures placed along the length of the boat, each of which extends from either side of the boat upwards to an apex over the centerline of the boat.
These aforementioned patents have the drawback that they either require the installation of additional hardware or are unstable. In addition, they are cumbersome to set up and inconvenient to store when not in use.